Canadian Culture

[salvius]

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[Kensingtonian]

Originally Posted by Plumber73

"Canadians sent an average 78.7 text messages a week; Americans send 129.6."

<<< I find this difficult to believe. Do people have a phobia about talking on the phone? I think I average about one text message per week. Voice contact has always worked better for me.

i agree. there's no way any normal person sends 79 texts a week, let alone 130.

[Looking/Up]

I have a friend who sends and receives around 2000 text messages a month. It's definitely possible. I very rarely send more than 100 in a month.

[Yellow Fever]

Originally Posted by Looking/Up

I have a friend who sends and receives around 2000 text messages a month. It's definitely possible.

You're absolutely right! I have couple teenage nephews can type faster than the speeding bullets and they told me that all their friends prefer sending text messages over talking. My nephews also have the unlimited text messages plan because the 2000 text messages plan is not enough for them.

[Looking/Up]

I know pretty much no one is very keen on Canadian literature here, but I'm going to post this anyway. I think it has some very interesting points, whether you happen to agree with them or not!

Traits of Canadian literature




Traits common to works of Canadian literature include:

Failure as a theme: Failure and futility feature heavily as themes in many notable works; for instance, Not Wanted on the Voyage by Timothy Findley or Kamouraska by Anne Hebert.

Humour: Serious subject matter is often laced with humour. See also: Canadian humour.

Mild anti-Americanism: There is marked sentiment of anti-American often in the form of gentle satire. While it is sometimes perceived as malicious, it often presents a friendly rivalry between the two nations

Multiculturalism: Since World War Two, multiculturalism has been an important theme. Writers using this theme include Mordecai Richler (known for novels such as The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz), Margaret Laurence (known for novels such as The Stone Angel), Rohinton Mistry, Michael Ondaatje -- The English Patient-- and prolific Chinese Canadian writer Wayson Choy.

Nature (and a "human vs. nature" tension): Reference to nature is common in Canada's literature. Nature is sometimes portrayed like an enemy, and sometimes like a divine force.

Satire and irony: Satire is probably one of the main elements of Canadian literature.

Self-deprecation: Another common theme in Canadian literature.

Self-evaluation by the reader

Search for Self-Identity: Some Canadian novels revolve around the theme of the search for one's identity and the need to justify one's existence. A good example is Robertson Davies's Fifth Business, in which the main character Dunstan Ramsay searches for a new identity by leaving his old town of Deptford.

Southern Ontario Gothic: A sub-genre which critiques the stereotypical Protestant mentality of Southern Ontario; many of Canada's most internationally famous authors write in this style.

The underdog hero: The most common hero of Canadian literature, an ordinary person who must overcome challenges from a large corporation, a bank, a rich tycoon, a government, a natural disaster, and so on.

Urban vs. rural: A variant of the underdog theme which involves a conflict between urban culture and rural culture, usually portraying the rural characters as morally superior. Often, as in Stephen Leacock's Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town or Alistair MacLeod's No Great Mischief, the simplicity of rural living is lost in the city.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_literature


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Also on right now (I think) is the International Festival of Authors in Toronto, which is the largest literary festival in North America.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by Kensingtonian

i agree. there's no way any normal person sends 79 texts a week, let alone 130.

When I lived in Britain, 20 texts/day seemed about average for every one I knew. It was not uncommon to send 10 just in one hour if you were on your way to meeting someone.

Here in Toronto, I'm sure my total is well over 100 texts/week, while I make only about 10 phone calls/week. I'll only call if I want/need to discuss something at length. A lot of students send about 300-400/week. Needless to say, they're not really paying much attention in class.

[Yellow Fever]

Texting is a cool thing to do among teenagers. I hardly sent text messages.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by Yellow Fever

Texting is a cool thing to do among teenagers. I hardly sent text messages.

Text is addictive. You can answer when you want, you're never put on the spot, and you can carry on with what you're doing while texting. You can't put someone on hold for 40 seconds with voice, but you can with text.

Talking on transit/confined public places is a little rude/inconsiderate too. When you text, you aren't forcing everyone else within earshot to listen to your conversation.

I think people who don't text think of it as a cool thing to do for teens. I thought of it that way before I moved to the UK. After a week, I was up to 20 texts a day.

[Yellow Fever]

I'm a slow text writer and it takes me forever to text one sentence.

[Taller, Better]

I'm surprised that texting has caught on here so strongly. When it was introduced, I used to tell my friend in Britain that it would not catch on here. They were crazy for texting over there, and probably still are. It is so impersonal... sort of like a short lazy email.

[isaidso]

You're correct comparing it to email. Doesn't that explain why it's caught on though?

Originally Posted by Yellow Fever

I'm a slow text writer and it takes me forever to text one sentence.

Did you see that woman who was crowned 'World Texting Champion'? She could text a ridiculous amount in just a few seconds. There are lots of short hand tricks too:

Where are you? > Where r u

[MissyC]

What I know for sure, I will always be myself, remain myself and never copy or pick up on any trend. I love the technology as it is supposed to make living easier and communication far better and advanced than our parents or grand parents were use do deal with, but I myself welcome and embrace all these new developments and technology wisely and don't get cought up on the trends.
If I don't want to pick up the phone, I have a voicemail to rely on. On public places and when necessary, I send a text message and reply if indeed required.
I rather use the email and less likely the phone or text messaging.
...
I wonder why there is so much interest for such silly stuff at time while those who work on such can come up with better solutions as to make life easier!

Example: why is one still asked to grab the seat in front of her/him on the event of an emergency landing on water as to float or can not leave the airplane while at trouble and always hear the sad news of many lives lost at each airline disaster the day after the event occured, while we can for example easily install parachutes and/or or a special suit that helps a passenger falling out of the sky to help make a smooth landing even if heavily injured in each seat or to install sonars and/or way of communication in each seat if anything happens to anybody during an emergency landing or what so ever, so it is easier to locate passengers or the bodies etc etc?

We can go on and go on and come up with many solutions and better stuff, but yes, I am always curious and wonder why so much attention to make better cell phones while they are absolutely useless when you are up in the air and right in the middle of the nowhere above the great Oceans??!!!

[1ajs]

[cementationfurnace]

AH! I just had flashblacks from elementary school!

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by 1ajs

That should be required viewing for kids left in the company of priests.

[vid]

That used to air between everything on TVO Kids when I was little. It was fucking creepy.

[1ajs]

hey vid u kmnow whats creapy they started to use that comcerial again

[vid]

Well, kids TV is so fucked up these days that it won't be as scary for them as it was for me.

[Looking/Up]

"From the Last Spike to Pierre Trudeau, from Vimy Ridge to Terry Fox, from Bob and Doug McKenzie to Ben Johnson, from Sir John A. Macdonald to Kim Campbell- these subjects come to life in 100 images that touch us, unsettle us, or make us proud to be Canadian.
Over 30 writers enrich the photos with in-depth commentary, creating a complex tapestry of experience that is nostalgic, entertaining, sometimes shocking, but always memorable. A book full of reminiscences, a book to browse through and share, this beautifully designed gallery of images offers a fascinating, often personal, perspective on great moments from our history. With introductory comments by Charlotte Gray, Deborah Morrison and Mark Reid, and noted contributors from across Canada, this will be the gift book of the fall.
Contributors include Christie Blatchford, Michael Bliss, Tim Cook, Peter Desbarats, Will Ferguson, J.L. Granatstein, Rudyard Griffiths, Tina Loo, Peter Mansbridge, Ken Mcgoogan, Christopher Moore, Desmond Morton, Don Newman, Jacques Poitras, Dick Pound and Winona Wheeler"
http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/...ed+canada%2527

[Kensingtonian]

Originally Posted by Yellow Fever

You're absolutely right! I have couple teenage nephews can type faster than the speeding bullets and they told me that all their friends prefer sending text messages over talking. My nephews also have the unlimited text messages plan because the 2000 text messages plan is not enough for them.

somebody should make these kids watch Wall E